In a little over two months, Helsinki will be the talk of the town when thousands of tech entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and journalists from around the world will meet for the largest tech startup event outside of Silicon Valley – Slush. While the Helsinki version of Slush is the most well-known; several cities around the globe have hosted Slush events in 2015, with the most recent of these being held in New York City on August 25th. This event – tagged as #NordicMade – was hosted at the Scandinavia House and welcomed over 120 participants. Mixing a beautiful summer night with some fine Nordic cuisine and drinks on a roof-top terrace, made for a perfect setting and created an idyllic atmosphere to enjoy presentations and introductions of several, budding Nordic startups.

Comprised mostly of local investors, media representatives and local companies; the crowd in attendance heard from select Nordic startups developing a wide array of innovative applications and other tech products. The startups on-hand discussed the hows and whys they have experienced success in Europe and the outlooks that they have regarding their futures in the US market. The presenting startups were successful in creating plenty of interest and inspiration amongst those in attendance; especially with many of the investors who were exceptionally active after the main program, engaging in extended discussions with several of the startups and by making key networking connections throughout the evening.

Among those in attendance were about 20 Amcham Inc. members; wrought with energy and excitement from start to finish. These members expressed eagerness in hearing and learning more about the ever-growing, Nordic entrepreneurial spirit. We heard several times over how amused and impressed they were with the talented and ambitious people and ideas coming out of the Nordics, with many of them showing additional interest in joining us in Helsinki on November 11-12 for this year’s main Slush event. One thing is for sure, Slush NYC was an event that sparked a plethora of excitement that is sure to create plenty of buzz and business opportunities moving forward